Shoe heel



Feb. 18, 1936. P. B. SULLNAN 2,031,511

SHOE HEEL Filed Deo. 20, 1933 Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES @PATENT ori-ice 8 Claims.

This invention relates to the heels of boots and shoes, and is more especially concerned with the high heels of womens shoes.

It is the usual practice to secure a rubber or leather top lift on the bottom of a heel. Since practically all of the wear on the heel comes on this top lift, and such wear usually occurs more rapidly at one side of the tread surface of the heel than at the other, these top lifts should be renewed before they become badly worn in order to prevent the shoe from becoming distorted and lniisshapen. Such renewal is a simple matter rwhen the heel has a tread surface of substantial area, but it is much more difficult on the very high heels of womens shoes, since the top lifts used on them are relatively small. In addition, A most of these high heels are made of woodrand therefore are very likely to be split or cracked by the act of driving nails, screws, or other fas- .tenings into them. f

In my prior Patent No. 1,876,361 I have described and claimed a construction which has proven highly satisfactory for securing top lifts to the bottoms of these high 4heeled shoes and which greatly facilitates the renewal of the top lifts. The present invention aims further to perfect and improve the construction shown in said patent with a View to producing a superior article and reducing the labor involved in making such renewals.

The nature ofthe invention Will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, and the novel features will be `particularly pointe-d out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the various parts of a heel constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a complete-heel including a top lift;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the top lift plate which preferably, lalthough not necessarily, is used, showing the plate at an intermediate stage in its manufacture;

Fig. 4 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional View of the heel illustrated in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a similar View of the lower part of the heel but with the head of the expanding device or wedge out olf.

The construction shown in the drawing comprises a wood heel 2, covered in the usual manner, this covering comprising a main section a for the sides and rounded rear end of the heel, and another section b for the breast of the heel. Formed in the lower or tread face c of the heel is a cavity 3 which extends rearwardly from the breast surface of the heel. The top lift 4 preferably is made ofj rubber or some equivalent resilientV material and is provided with an integral upstanding lug 5 5 designed to be received in the recess or cavity 3. For the purpose of securingthe top lift in its operative position on the heel, and also to reinforce the bottom of the heel ;a top lift attaching plate 6 is secured to thelower face c of the heel 10 A by screws, nails, or other fastening devices driven through holes in the plate,some of which are designated by the numeral l, This plate is slotted, as indicated at 8, and the opposite edges of the slot have teeth formed in them, these teeth being directed backwardly away from the open end of the slot. Preferably, also, a V-shaped lug I2 is cut from the material of the plate, but is left integral therewith, and is bent upwardly where it forms an abutment for the rearwardj end of the lug 5. In Fig. 3 the lug I2 is shown before being b ent up.

So far as the features above described are concerned, and except for the modifications hereinafter described, the foregoing construction is like Y that shown and described in my earlier patent above designated. The lug 5 of the heel is inserted in the cavity 3` and inthe slot 8 of the plate 6 after the plate has been secured to the bottom of the heel, and the engagement of the teeth 9 with the sides of the lug strongly resist l any effort to pull the heel off the shoe, either by a movement directly downwardly, or in a directionlforward.

In this construction, however, as illustrated in my prior patent, it has been customary to cement the breast cover 1:l down over the forward end of I the cavity 3, `and in renewing the top lift this breast cover had to be lifted in order to permit the vwithdrawal of the lug 5 from the cavity 3 and the introduction of the lug with a new top lift. The present invention aims both toV avoid the necessity for disturbing this breast cover and also to fasten the top lift more securely to the heel.

For this purpose I have slit the lug 5 longitudinally, as indicated at I4, Fig. l. The parts are assembled in the usual way, but the lower margin of the breast section b of the heel cover preferably is cut out so that it ts the surface of the wood heel accurately but does not cover the forward end of the cavity 3. After the heel has been placed in position, a locking device or wedge I5 is forced into the slit I4 longitudinally thereof so that it laterally expands the lug 5. Preferably the head of this device is made of some ornamental shape or design, as indicated at l', and of suicient dimensions to completely cover the forward end of the cavity 3. Due to the fact that the bottom of this cavity is restricted laterally by the plate 6, the expansion of the lug above this plate locks the top lift very securely in its operative position. In addition, it facilitates the renewal of the top lift since it is merely necessary for this purpose to withdraw the wedge I5, remove the old top lift and replace it with a new one, these operations being performed without disturb-ing in any way the cover section b for the breast of the heel. When the wedge l5 has once been inserted in place it forms a lock for the lug of the top lift additional to that provided by the plate 6. In fact, this arrangement can be used without the plate, if desired, particularly if the cavity 3 is made of a dove-tail form. The wedge also can take a variety of forms. It is preferable, however, to notch or roughen the sides of the wedge so that the ridges or teeth formed in it will embed themselves in the walls of the slit I4 and effectually resist any tendency to withdraw the wedge accidentally. In fact, I have used an ordinary wood screw as a wedging device, but the head of such a screw does not present an appearance in keeping with the general style and character of shoes on which this invention finds its most important use.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

l. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, a top lift having a lug extending upwardly therefrom and positioned in said cavity, said cavity being open at one end to permit said lug to be inserted in the cavity in a direction longitudinally of the heel to position the top lift properly on the heel, and means expanding said lug within said cavity and thereby securing said top lift in its operative position on the heel.

2. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, a top lift having a lug extending upwardly therefrom and positioned in said cavity, said cavity being open at one end to permit said lug to be inserted in the cavity in a direction longitudinally of the heel to position the top lift properly on the heel, and means expanding said lug laterally within said cavity and thereby securing said top lift in its operative position on the heel.

3. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, a top lift having a lug extending upwardly therefrom and positioned in said cavity, said cavity being open at the end thereof at the breast surface of the heel to permit said lug to be inserted in the cavity in a direction longitudinally of the heel to position the top lift properly on the heel, means expanding said lug laterally within said cavity and thereby securing said top lift in its operative position on the heel, and means engaging the sides of said lug and exerting a strong resistance to the removal of the lug through the open end of said cavity at the breast of the heel.

4. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, a top lift made of resilient material and having a lug extending upwardly therefrom and positioned in said cavity, said cavity being open at one end to permit said lug to be inserted in the cavity in a direction longitudinally of the heel to position the top lift properly on the heel, said cavity being restricted in width at the bottom thereof, and means expanding said lug laterally within said cavity and thereby securing said top lift in its operative position.

5. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, said cavity extending rearwardly into the heel from the breast surface thereof, a rubber top lift having an integral lug extending upwardly therefrom into said cavity, said lug being split longitudinally, and a device extending into the split in said lug for expanding the lug laterally.

6. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, said cavity extending rearwardly into the heel from the breast surface thereof, a rubber top lift having an integral lug extending upwardly therefrom into said cavity, said lug being split longitudinally, and a device extending into the split in said lug and expanding the lug laterally,

said device having serrated portions engaging the Walls of the split in said lug and serving by such engagement to strongly resist any movement of said device forward out of its engagement with said lug.

7. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, said cavity extending rearwardly into the heel from the breast surface thereof, a rubber top lft having an integral lug extending upwardly therefrom into said cavity, said lug being split longitudinally, and a device extending into the split in said lug for expanding the lug laterally, said device having' a head serving, when in its operative position, to substantially cover the end of said cavity at the breast surface of the heel.

8. A shoe heel having a cavity in its lower face, said cavity extending rearwardly into said heel from the breast surface thereof, a plate secured on said lower face, a rubber top lift having an integral lug extending upwardly therefrom into said cavity, said plate having a slot therein registering with said cavity and provided with an open end adjacent to said breast surface, whereby said top lift may be moved into its operative position on the heel by sliding said lug into said slot and cavity in a rearward direction, the edges of the slot in said plate being constructed to grip the base of said lug at opposite sides thereof, said lug being slit longitudinally, and a wedge extending into the slit in said lug and serving to expand the lug laterally.

PETER B. SULLIVAN. 

